PAGE4 THE POST EDITORIAL Sunday, September 11, 2005 FROM THE EDITOR Coaches need to live by the words they use Now that the fall sports season is in full swing, you're going to be hearing a lot about high school sports. And about life. And how student-athletes can learn many life lessons by participating in sports. Most of those words will come out of the mouths of coaches, whether it’s at postgame interviews with reporters, pre-game talks with their players, or meetings with members of the booster clubs. It’s about time for some of those coaches to start living the words they preach. : After last weekend's game against Dallas at Mountaineer Stadi- um, a Wilkes-Barre Area School District football coach declined to speak to reporters following his team’s season-opening loss to the Mountaineers. It’s understandable that a coach whose team com- mitted several costly turnovers en route to a 35-0 loss would be less-than-overjoyed after the game. But this is a head coach with a 12-38 record through five seasons who — on more than one occasion — has talked about how he teach- es his players life lessons through football. “Wins and losses are important, but we’re also trying to send kids to bigger and better things in life,” he once said. “We're trying to teach young men about things like hard work and responsib- lity.” The coach certainly didn’t show any responsibility after the game against Dallas. It might have been a little cliché, but he could have talked about how his players kept playing hard until the final whistle, despite the score. He could have talked about the positive things the players did during the game. Instead, he took his ball and went home. The scene was much different the night before at Lake-Lehman, where the host Black Knights suffered a lopsided loss against Ha- nover Area. If there was a coach who had reason to be upset, it was Greg Myers, whose team committed six turnovers in a 40-13 loss. There’s a good chance Myers, a standout player in high school and at Virginia Tech, hadn’t been part of a team that committed that many turnovers in a single game. But instead of waving off reporters, the 26-year-old not only answered every question, he graciously waited off to the side for almost 10 minutes while the winning coach was being interviewed. He could have easily walked away and had someone tell the report- ers he wasn’t available. That’s not to say all of the coaches in our Back Mountain high schools are perfect. Hardly. In fact, there have been many coaches — past and present — who have been downright nasty after games. But most of them consent to interviews. And those coaches are certainly the exception to the rule. Instead, we have role models like Matt Samuel and John Sobo- cinski. Despite being head coaches of so-called “secondary sports,” there aren’t too many coaches who put in the hours they do with the Dallas and Lake-Lehman cross country and track teams, respec- tively. And you'll never receive a “no comment” from either of them. No matter how difficult the circumstances. When the Dallas girls cross country team fell short in its attempt to repeat as state champions last year, Samuel wasn’t a no-show after the state championship meet. Instead — despite being obvi- ously disappointed — he talked positively about the effort of his team and the quality of competition. It’s easy for a coach to stand in front of a group of people and talk about how winning and losing isn’t the most important thing in high school sports. But if you're going to say the words, you better mean them. Playing high school sports can have an overwhelmingly positive affect on young people. And there’s no question student-athletes can learn a lot about life and handling adversity by participating. Many coaches can learn a lot, as well. Dave Konopki is editor of The Post. He can be reached by e-mail at dkonop- ki@leader.net or by calling 829-7248. MOMENTS The History Channel On Sept. 18, 1789, with the nation’s finances in a mess, the United States government takes out its first loan. It took a little under a year to repay the loan of $191,608.81. On Sept. 17,1884, Judge Allen disposes of the 13 criminal cases on his Oakland, Calif., docket in only six minutes. Defendants in Oak- land's criminal court did not stand much of a chance of gaining an acquittal. In a 40-year period, only 1 defendant in 100 was acquitted. On Sept. 16, 1908, William C. Durant founds the General Motors Corporation, consolidating several motorcar companies, including Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac. Over the next few years, GM bought out Chevrolet, Delco, the Fisher Body Company and Frigidaire. On Sept. 13, 1916, children’s author Roald Dahl is born in South Wales. Author of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (1964) and ‘James and the Giant Peach” (1961), Dahl also wrote the screenplay for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (1968) and a James Bond film, “You Only Live Twice" (1967). On Sept. 12, 1940, near Montignac, France, a collection of 15,000- to 17,000-year-old prehistoric cave paintings are discovered by four teenagers who stumbled into a cavern. The grotto, briefly opened to the public, was closed due to mold on the paintings. IN TIME On Sept. 15, 1954, the famous picture of Marilyn Monroe, laughing as her skirt is blown up by the blast from a subway vent, is shot dur- ing the filming of “The Seven Year Itch.” The scene infuriated her husband, Joe DiMaggio, and the couple divorced shortly after. On Sept. 14,1974, Eric Clapton's version of “| Shot the Sheriff,” written by reggae legend Bob Marley, hits No. 1on the music charts. The lyrics, in which the theft of a Stetson hat leads to the death of a self-professed family man, were based on an actual murder that occurred in St. Louis, Mo., in 1895. Tae POST TIMES©LEADER Community Newspaper Group ¢ 15 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18711 ® 570-675-5211 thepost@leader.net Patrick McHugh PUBLISHER David C. Konopki EDITOR Erika Calvert ADVERTISING FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK You don't need an expensive remote-controlled recliner or a beautiful porch swing to sit back and relax. This wooden chair is almost beg- ging you to sit awhile and enjoy the quiet of a cool autumn afternoon. Annual Word Horde to shine light on local talent By CAROL KING Back Mountain Memorial Library The kickoff event of this year’s annual Dallas Harvest Festival will be the Word Horde at the Back Mountain Memorial Li- brary. The open microphone event will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16 at the library on Huntsville Road in Dallas. Call the library at 675-1182 if you'd like to participate by dis- playing your artistic talent. Be sure to ask for Brian. A sale of Halloween and Thanksgiving items will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17 in the Community Room of the library. Among the items to be included will be wreaths, wall hangings, indoor and outdoor decorations, light- ed Halloween novelties and cos- tumes. Members of the Hallo- ween fund-raising committee will conduct the sale. All pro- ceeds benefit the library. The library action committee will hold a mini-auction from 1-6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18 in the Dal- las Borough maintenance ga- rage. Call the library for more in- formation. * %* % The Farmers’ Market will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat- urday, Sept. 17 on the library grounds. The second annual event has been a very successful, as more and more people have become acquainted with the ex- cellent quality of the fruits and vegetables, as well as the novel cheese varieties. The library is offering a basic beginners class in crocheting from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Sat- urday, Sept. 24. The class will run for three to five sessions, based on the participants’ needs, through October. Pre-registra- tion is required because the class size is limited. Call or stop by the library to register. There is no fee to attend the classes. Participants can make either a scarf or a napkin. For the first session, participants sho bring a 5H or J crochet hook an a skein of yarn. Recommenda- tions will be given regarding pur- chasing needed materials for the project. Carol King is a volunteer at the Back Mountain Memorial Library. Her library news column appears every other week. . OPEN MIC EVENT SEPT. 16 AT LIBRARY The Back Mountain Memorial Library will ce brate the first anniversary of Word Horde at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16 on the library grounds near the gazebo. In case of bad weather, the event will be moved inside. The program started a year ago to celebrate and showcase local talent in an open microphone, coffeehouse atmosphere. Past per- formances included a monologue performed about an Indian Princess in love; songs about love, war, and peace; and songs about sailors and their true love, the ocean. The public is encour- aged to attend. Be sure to bring your lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy local talent under the stars. Anyone interested in performing may either reg- ister at the door the evening of the event or by calling the library at 675-182. The event is being held in conjunction with the Dallas Harvest Fes- tival and is being sponsored by the Friends of the Back Mountain Memorial Library. 70 Years Ago Sept. 13, 1935 RECORD-BREAKING VOTER TURNOUT EXPECTED Faced with the dreary threat of an un- American political dictator- will turn in tre men- dous plu- ralities on Tuesday for local and coun- ty candidates who are opposed to the present Republican lead- ership in Luzerne County. This was the consensus of opinion last night as candi- dates entered the whirlwind finish of Luzerne County’s most heated primary election in years. YESTERDAY Mrs. Elizabeth Garrahan, widow of the late Harry Garra- han, was named overseer of the poor for Dallas Borough on Saturday by the court en banc. Mrs. Garrahan succeeds her husband to the office. 60 Years Ago Sept. 14, 1945 MOST FRESHMEN EVER AT COLLEGE MISERICORDIA College Misericordia began the 1945-1947 school year with 100 girls in the largest freshmen class in its 22-year history. Stu- dents represent 10 eastern and southern states and Puerto Rico. Additional residence halls on campus will be built within the next year. Plans for the formal opening of the Back Mountain Memorial Library on Sunday, Oct. 7 and for the establishment of a “closed shelf” collection of books were discussed at the meeting of the Library Book Club. 50 Years Ago Sept. 16, 1955 HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS WILL DRIVE NEW CAR Lehman-Jackson-Ross juniors will learn to drive in the latest « thing in Fordomatic cars provid- ed by Motor Twins. The dual- control training car will be in op- eration shortly. Out of 56 juniors, 18 already have a drivers’ license. There are another 21 students below the requisite 16 years. Daddow-Isaacs Post Ameri- can Legion Post 672 will partici- pate in the Americanization Day Parade on Sunday afternoon in Kingston. Commander Fred Cockayne says every Legion Post in the area is expected to at- tend. 40 Years Ago Sept. 16, 1965 GATE OF HEAVEN PASTOR WINS MAN OF THE YEAR The Rev. Francis A. Kane, pas- tor of Gate of Heaven Church in Dallas, was presented with the American Legion Man of the Year award by Daddow-Isaacs Post American Legion Post 672. The award was given during the annual Americanism Night cere- mony. Margaret Reese, of Franklin » Street in Dallas, was named queen of the annual Dallas Ro- tary Fall Fair. Fair princesses were Patricia Ann Sickler, Doge na Lynn Bryant and Mary ) Casterline. Herman Otto was the emcee and last year’s queen Linda Mekeel crowned this year’s winner. 30 Years Ago Sept. 11, 1975 LEHMAN IS CHAMPION AT FIREMEN’S OLYMPICS The Lehman Fire Company captured first place honors in the Firemen’s Olympic contest held Sunday afternoon at the Luzerne County Fair on the Lehman Horse Show grounds. Except for the 5-man bucket brigade that was won by Idetown and the pumping contest captured by Shavertown, the Lehman com- pany captured first place in all events. Despite a rumored prison break by two inmates at ® State Correctional Institute WP Dallas, a prison spokesman as- sured the Post that “everyone is here that is supposed to be here.” \
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers